President Obama met Thursday with families of oil workers killed when the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in April, leading to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The president also met separately Democratic and Republican congressional leaders on the Gulf oil situation, and his desire to move the country toward a new energy future.

Following up on sympathy letters he had sent earlier the president, joined by key Cabinet and other officials, welcomed families to the private meeting in the White House to offer his condolences.

Eleven people died when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, breaking the deep sea oil well and unleashing hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf.

A White House statement said the president told them he, the first lady, and his administration are behind them and will be there long after the cameras are gone as they go through their unimaginable grief.

He also told families that while he recognized offshore drilling is a part of the overall U.S. energy strategy, he could not reverse a ban on new deepwater drilling until proper safety measures are in place to prevent a similar tragedy.

Inadequate laws and regulatory standards in place to deal with a crisis as serious as the Gulf spill, and efforts in Congress to revise these laws, was a key focus of talks with congressional leaders.

The president said there was bipartisan agreement on the need to change that situation. "That we update the laws to make sure that the people in the Gulf, the fishermen, the hotel owners, families who are dependent for their livelihoods in the Gulf, that they are all made whole and that we are in a much better position to respond to any such crisis in the future," he said.

Speaking with reporters, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed anger at BP, saying the company has demonstrated a lack of integrity. She suggested that BP stop paying shareholders dividends until Gulf area residents are fully compensated. "They made $17 billion last year. They should have been paying these small businesses [in the Gulf] first," she said.

White House spokesman Gibbs reacted this way to Pelosi's remark: "The answer on this is not whether they pay their dividends, but if they are going to pay dividends, if they're going to spend $50 million on ad campaigns, then we certainly shouldn't hear about claims that aren't being paid," he said.

Talks with congressional leaders also focused on proposed clean energy legislation, including a so-called cap and trade program, which Republicans have labeled as a national energy tax. Only the House has passed a version of energy or climate change legislation.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell repeated a frequently-heard Republican assertion that the president and Democrats seek to use the Gulf oil tragedy to build support for final energy legislation. "In the U.S. Senate, even though the measure passed in the House, there is bipartisan opposition to a national energy tax and it has absolutely nothing to do with the environmental catastrophe that we are witnessing in the Gulf," he said.

On his hopes for moving more aggressively on the energy agenda, President Obama also welcomed a group of seven business leaders, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, to the White House.

"Although, obviously, our immediate task is to deal with a crisis that is affecting millions of people down in the gulf, we can't keep our eye off the importance of having an energy policy that meets the needs of the next generation and ensures that the United States is the leader when it comes to energy policy," he said.

President Obama leaves on Monday for the Gulf, his fourth visit to the region since the oil disaster began, visiting Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, all facing environmental and economic impact from the spill.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

Video

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

Video

Diagnosing infections such as HIV requires expensive clinical tests, making the procedure too costly for many poor patients or those living in remote areas. But a new technology called lab-on-a-chip may make the tests more accessible to many. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Afghan officials have expressed concern over reports of a crackdown on Afghan refugees in Pakistan following the Peshawar school attack in December. Reports of mass arrests and police harassment coupled with fear of an uncertain future are making life difficult for a population that fled its homeland to escape war. VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem reports from Islamabad.

Video

Despite the ongoing ceasefire in Ukraine, soldiers in the city of Mariupol fear that pro-Russian separatists may be getting ready to attack. The separatists must take or encircle the city if they wish to gain land access to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia early last year. But Ukrainian forces, many of them volunteers, say they are determined to defend it. Patrick Wells reports from Mariupol.

Video

As low oil prices and Western sanctions force Russia's economy into recession, thousands of Moscow restaurants are expected to close their doors. Restaurant owners face rents tied to foreign currency, while rising food prices mean Russians are spending less when they dine out. One entrepreneur in Moscow has started a dinner kit delivery service for those who want to cook at home to save money but not skimp on quality. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports.

Video

The United States and Cuba say they have made progress in the second round of talks on restoring diplomatic relations more than 50 years after breaking off ties. Delegations from both sides met in Washington on Friday to work on opening embassies in Havana and Washington and iron out key obstacles to historic change. VOA’s Mary Alice Salinas reports from the State Department.

Video

One after another, presumptive Republican presidential contenders auditioned for conservative support this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference held outside Washington. The rhetoric was tough as a large field of potential candidates tried to woo conservative support with red-meat attacks on President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. VOA Political Columnist Jim Malone takes a look.

Video

New Yorkers take pride in setting world trends — in fashion, the arts and fine dining. The city’s famous biannual Restaurant Week plays a significant role in a booming tourism industry that sustains 359,000 jobs and generates $61 billion in yearly revenue. VOA's Ramon Taylor reports.

Video

Issues like the Keystone XL pipeline, fracking and instability in the Middle East are driving debate in the U.S. about making America energy independent. Recently, the American Energy Innovation Council urged Congress and the White House to make expanded energy research a priority. One beneficiary of increased energy spending would be the Brookhaven National Lab, where clean, renewable, efficient energy is the goal. VOA's Bernard Shusman reports.

Video

There has been a surge of interest in the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, thanks in part to the Hollywood motion picture "Selma." Five decades later, communities in the South are embracing the dark chapters of their past with hopes of luring tourism dollars. VOA's Chris Simkins reports.

Video

With the end of summer in the Southern hemisphere, the Antarctic research season is over. Scientists from Northern Illinois University are back in their laboratory after a 3-month expedition on the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest floating ice sheet. As VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports, they hope to find clues to explain the dynamics of the rapidly melting ice and its impact on sea level rise.

Video

A Lao dam project on a section of the Mekong River is drawing opposition from local fishermen, international environmental groups and neighboring countries. VOA's Say Mony visited the region to investigate the concerns. Colin Lovett narrates.